A 70x50 cm mixed media artwork that includes an Apollo 11 maxicard designed by me in 2009 for the Romanian Post. See the full stamp issue here.

In philately a maximum card (also known as a maxi-card, or maxicard) is a postcard with a postage stamp placed on the picture side of the card where the stamp and card match or are in concordance. In most cases, the cancel is also related to the image on the front of the card and the stamp.

The collecting of maximum cards is known as maximaphily.

The work is part of an ongoing series that utilize photo luminescent pigment with a glow period of over eight hours.

The area around the stamps, blocks, postcards or envelopes, made from the spacial cardboard generally used for the passe-par-tout is used as a painting surface. Small details (visible only in a specific angle and light) made with pencils and liners, rough acrylic touch, metallic colors and the special glow in the dark pigment work together to the final composition. The idea is that at different distances to the tableau, the viewer is experiencing different paintings.

The light plays a very important role. Not only for the photo luminescent pigments, invisible during the day and which without light will remain near invisible in the dark, but for all the other materials used.

Many of the details are made almost black to black. They become visible only in a éclairage rasant or with the help of the reflections of light.

All these made the tableau interesting to see for yourself and not so spectacular when photographed. Details and a movie with the glow in the dark effect on my website. http://alecbartos.com